HP North Star's Radiance

On the other side, Harry suddenly opened his eyes wide: "I saw...I saw him point his wand at..."

"Who?" Hermione and Ron looked at each other in bewilderment.

Even at this moment, Harry still couldn't bring himself to say her name directly: "Our friend Talia."

Hermione and Ron immediately realized why. Because Prader had betrayed Voldemort, helping them destroy Voldemort's soul using Horcruxes!

“We have to find her,” Harry convinced himself. “Only she knows where the remaining Horcruxes are, and whether they’ve been destroyed.”

Harry knew that Prader had helped Dumbledore destroy some Horcruxes, but he didn't know what was inside them. He was right, but only he knew that he didn't want Prader to die so quietly.

Unbeknownst to them, Praris had already averted his own life-threatening crisis, but was now forced to confront another one.

Praris truly didn't understand why this was happening; everything before her eyes was beyond her comprehension.

Voldemort said to Praris, "Your professor betrayed you, didn't he? I saw your thoughts, he attacked you... How disappointing."

“That’s right.” Praris’s tone hardened. “Even if Professor Snape doesn’t consider me a student, I am still your servant, Master. We all serve our Master, so what’s the point of killing each other?”

“That’s right,” Voldemort drawled. “Absolutely right, Praris. As a reward for your service, I will give you the opportunity to witness me punish him—that’s quite rare, isn’t it?”

Chapter 300 The Death of Sylvia

“Master, this…I’m afraid it’s not appropriate,” Praris said hesitantly. “Now is the time to attack Hogwarts, and we need more strength.”

Her words went unanswered.

Voldemort said, "Here they come."

Praris's heart sank to the bottom instantly, like a stone falling into water.

She realized this was no reward. Voldemort's words were all sweet talk; it was nothing more than a convenient handout. He had already sent for Snape, and no matter what Prarese said, his decision to punish Snape would not change in the slightest.

Yes, Prader should have died before her professor. But Voldemort believed he would kill Harry, and he needed Prader to continue serving him after the war. She survived only because she still possessed significant value and proved her loyalty.

Snape sensed something was wrong as soon as he entered. He immediately bowed and reported, "Master, their defenses are crumbling..."

"What does this have to do with you?" Voldemort said mercilessly. "Severus, you are quite capable, but I think you are no longer of much use—Miss Praris can completely replace you in all your work."

Prairie froze. The disciple starved the master. Voldemort actually wanted to kill Professor Snape, and her very existence was one of the reasons.

Snape looked up sharply and protested, "No, Master, she's too young..."

Prader wanted to speak up for Professor Snape, but she knew she couldn't. Professor Snape had attacked her not long ago, and she had no reason to speak up for him; it wouldn't save him, and it would only drag her down with him.

"Young?" Voldemort said slowly. "Yes, isn't being young a good thing?"

Young girls are much easier to control than seasoned veterans like Snape!

Snape, looking pale, said urgently, “I can find the boy for you—I know where he is! Master, let me find him for you!”

Upon hearing this, Praris immediately hesitated before speaking, "Master, that's true..."

Voldemort's gaze immediately fell on Praris, and he asked suspiciously, "You're speaking up for him, Praris?"

“I only have your best interests at heart, Master.” Praris immediately retreated, but beneath her sleeves, her hand had already reached for her wand.

"Alright...alright, Severus. We don't need to find Potter; he'll come to us. It's a common weakness of people like him—they can't stand by and watch others die for them." Voldemort said this casually, then turned to Snape and asked softly, "But Severus, I've always had a question. Could you answer it for me?"

"Owner?"

Voldemort looked puzzled, stroking his wand: "Tell me, why doesn't it work on me?"

"Master?" Snape was equally puzzled. "I don't understand. Didn't you use it to cast powerful magic?"

Voldemort acknowledged this, but his tone was full of dissatisfaction: "Yes, powerful, but it's not a miracle, it doesn't deserve its name."

"Its... reputation?" Snape slowly uttered the question.

Prass stared intently at the wand in Voldemort's hand. She had seen this wand before... she had watched Dumbledore place it in his grave with her own eyes, and she had buried it herself!

Although Pralis didn't yet know the name of the wand, she immediately grasped Voldemort's meaning.

Dumbledore… that despicable old bastard Dumbledore! He deceived her and Professor Snape with sweet words! That vile and shameless scoundrel took advantage of the uncle and nephew and then pushed them to their deaths.

She was originally going to die too, after Harry destroyed the locket. In this way, apart from Aberforth, no one else knew how Dumbledore survived, and no one else knew he was still alive! From then on, no one could tarnish his illustrious reputation!

Pralis felt dizzy, and the whole world turned pale. She heard intermittently words like "The Elder Wand," "from Albus Dumbledore's grave," and "regret."

Voldemort raised his wand.

Prareas took a step forward with the tip of his shoe.

Voldemort said something, but no one knows what.

Praris's wand slipped from her sleeve.

Voldemort's wand emitted a brief flash of light.

Bah!

A heavy thud was heard as the object landed.

Praris stood there, stunned.

Someone collapsed, but it wasn't her, nor Professor Snape, but Sylvia Prince, her emaciated mother.

On Sylvia's gaunt face, her listless black eyes suddenly moistened slightly as she twitched weakly, nearing the end of her life.

"sorry."

Sylvia died so easily, twelve years after her trial. She didn't even utter a cry of pain, leaving behind only an apology to whoever it was.

Aside from Voldemort, no one noticed when the witch had appeared. Sylvia had always been like a shadow beside Voldemort, silently and unnoticed.

Voldemort seemed to be taken aback by this situation for a moment—it was impossible not to be surprised. He always thought that this woman had long lost her mind, which was why he used her as a diary to confide in Nagini. He never expected that she still had her own thoughts... Now that she is dead, it is a good thing!

Of course, of course, there are two more damned ones: one is Snape right in front of us, and the other is Yaxley, who offered up Sylvia.

Voldemort raised his wand again, but before he could cast a spell, a crisp whooshing sound rang out in the air.

A figure dressed in a magical robe that shimmered in the moonlight appeared in the dilapidated house, and spoke in a relaxed and casual voice: "Tom—"

Another whooshing sound filled the air. Without a word, Voldemort vanished from his spot, leaving his two subordinates behind.

Voldemort fled without a fight!

So much happened in just two or three minutes that even Praris's mind couldn't keep up. She stood there blankly, staring at Sylvia's corpse.

Dumbledore had obviously seen it too, and he said softly, "Plares, I'm sorry I'm late."

“Mother is conscious,” Praris said absently. “Voldemort used her as a tool, but she was actually conscious… Headmaster, I used Legilimency on Alecto, and Mother gave out a card once; it had the High Priestess, the Star, and the Queen on it.”

After many years, Praris was finally able to call Sylvia "Mom" again without hesitation. Sadly, Sylvia never got to hear it.

Snape stood there, a complex expression on his face, like a silent shadow. He had cursed his sister many times, especially when Sylvia was young, and he could never imagine that Sylvia would choose to die for him and Praris.

When Voldemort raised his wand, Snape only wanted to escape and fight back, but after Sylvia appeared and fell to the ground to shield him from the magic, he saw Prasris raise her wand behind Voldemort.

Snape wasn't sure if Sylvia had seen this, and there was even a possibility that Sylvia, with her prophetic abilities, had foreseen it all but couldn't bring herself to say it—no one could say for sure.

Dumbledore sighed, "This is a relief for Sylvia, too."

Compared to living a life of limb like a living dead, isn't death a better choice? At least she no longer has to be a walking corpse, and at the end of her life, she finally managed to protect her daughter and repay her cousin who had helped her.

Dumbledore recalled that Sylvia had pleaded with Snape in a letter, but she had nothing left but her house in Southend-on-the-Sea, so she made a frivolous promise that she would give her life for Snape if her cousin would take in her child.

After much back and forth, Snape accepted Prareas, and Sylvia paid the price she had promised.

Prarese forced herself to shake off these thoughts and looked at Dumbledore: "What brings you here at this hour?"

Voldemort had no Horcruxes, had just suffered a soul attack, and did not yet have ownership of the Elder Wand. The appearance of Dumbledore, the true owner of the Elder Wand, would naturally scare him away.

But this is only temporary. Dumbledore is an empty shell. He only looks glamorous. In reality, he is just a facade, which is only maintained by the potions that Prares gave him not long ago.

“I’ve come to keep my promise to you, Prarese.” Dumbledore looked at her kindly. “It’s what I promised you.”

Dumbledore never forgot his promise to Prader. As long as Prader lived, the Elder Wand was not in Voldemort's hands, and Voldemort would discover this sooner or later. Therefore, he couldn't afford to die during this time; otherwise, Voldemort would definitely seek out Snape, who had confessed to murdering him, and seize control of the Elder Wand.

If Snape were still alone, Dumbledore would never have done this—there were far more important things in the world. But Snape wasn't; his son risked his life to keep him alive, even going so far as to carry out Dumbledore's covert plan against Voldemort.

This was the highest value Slytherin could offer in a deal, enough to move Dumbledore.

On Christmas Eve, he told Prarese that he couldn't die, precisely for this reason. His later life was given to him by Prarese, and it was only natural that he had to give it back to her in the end.

"And what about me? What about your promise to me?!"

Harry held up his wand, and a box floated up. He stood at the bottom of the box, holding the Invisibility Cloak in his other hand. Behind him was Hermione, who was covering her mouth and had tears in her eyes.

This was a feud between Harry and Dumbledore, and Prader didn't want to get involved, so she simply stepped aside, leaving the space to Dumbledore and his Savior students.

Praris walked over to Sylvia, reached out and closed her mother's eyes, and whispered, "Actually... I don't really hate you."

Prarese once told Professor McGonagall that Sylvia had disappointed her first, but she didn't actually hate Sylvia.

When Sylvia reappeared in front of Praris, she felt a sense of emptiness.

Praris didn't know what that feeling was like. She just felt that Sylvia wasn't like that, that the person beside Voldemort wasn't Sylvia, but just... an empty shell.

Therefore, she shouldn't be sad for this Sylvia; the real Sylvia is already dead.

To Praris's surprise, Sylvia was actually alive; she was simply hiding inside this body. Those tarot cards were the only thing she could do for her daughter, until she used her death to say the apology she couldn't say twelve years ago.

Snape stood behind Prareus, silently bowing his head, speechless.

Behind Snape and Prasris, Harry looked at Dumbledore and felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity. Prasris didn't hate Dumbledore, but Harry did.

He recalled the days he had tormented himself for Dumbledore, the tears he had shed, his longing for him, his love and hate… Now, only anger remained. If Dumbledore hadn't died at all, then Harry Potter was a joke!

Praris's voice rang out: "I don't think I need to hear what follows, nor should I, do I? Please make yourselves at home."

She stood by the door, with Snape holding Sylvia's body beside her.

Dumbledore nodded politely. "Plares, Severus... Sylvia, thank you and your family."

Hogwarts' protective magic had been completely destroyed, allowing Prairie and Snape to Apparate into the Forbidden Forest.

Praris quickly used magic to dig a grave for Sylvia, transforming withered branches and fallen leaves into a coffin, allowing her mother to leave this world cleanly and with dignity.

“Let’s go.” Praris took a deep look at the simple grave and said softly, “We must get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible.”

Inside the Shrieking Shack, Hermione made the same choice, leaving the space to Harry and Dumbledore.

“You saved Snape!” Harry’s voice trembled with anger and hurt. “You kept your promise to Prader! You always find a way to protect those you want to protect, don’t you? And what about me, Dumbledore? What was your promise to me? Did you teach me just so I could die?!”

Harry knows how to hurt someone. These words were like a sharp sword, piercing through all of Dumbledore's defenses and making him appear much older in an instant.